


Christmas Trees and Memories

by Xenia



Series: lauliverchristmas2015 [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 16:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5505626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenia/pseuds/Xenia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver, Laurel and Thea decorating the Christmas tree together</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Trees and Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 3 of the lauliverchristmasweek on Tumblr with the prompt "Making the Christmas Tree together"

Laurel came home from work and found her apartment filled with boxes. Wondering what was happening she walked in and found a huge tree in a corner of her living room. Thea and Oliver were there, opening boxes and finding decorations. Making the Christmas Tree together was a tradition for the Queen’s, Thea and Oliver always did it, usually with Raisa, cause their parents were always busy. Even now that they didn’t leave together they wanted to respect the tradition. Since Oliver had recently broken up with Felicity and wasn’t planning on making the tree they decided to do together the one at Laurel’s place. They invited Laurel to join them, at first she didn’t want to intrude in a family moment, but they insisted that she was family. They found an old snowball that Laurel had given Oliver when they were children. It was the first gift she ever gave Oliver, she couldn’t believe that is was stil there. When Laurel and Oliver started remembering their past Thea quickly left the room. In the end Oliver told Laurel how much she meant for him and they kissed, while Thea smiled from the doorway. She always had bright ideas to help his brother find happiness. 

When Laurel came home from work she found her the floor of her hallway covered in boxes and she heard voices, Thea’s and Oliver’s probably, and soft Christmas music coming from the living room. She frowned. She thought Thea was spending the day with Malcolm, both her and Oliver weren’t really happy about that, but Thea was a grown woman and if she wanted to have a relationship with her the crazy murderer she had as a father there wasn’t nothing either of them could do. And Oliver had told her that he was busy with work, since he’d got his company he’d taken his work much more seriously and it wasn’t unusual for him to do long hours, he wanted to make sure that no one would ever be able to take his family’s company away from him. Thinking that no one would be home Laurel had stayed longer at the office to finish the paperwork of some cases and have the next week free for Christmas shopping and Christmas decorations. Apparently both her acquired sister and her boyfriend had lied to her. She discarded her heels and quietly made her way to the living room, trying to avoid all the boxes and not make any noise. Miraculously she was able to reach her destination and looked in the room. Oliver and Thea were standing next to the biggest Christmas Tree Laurel had ever seen, surrounded of more boxes and they were laughing and decorating the tree. Making the Christmas Tree together was a tradition for the Queen family, from as long as Laurel could remember Thea and Oliver had always done that together, sometimes with the help of their maid Raisa, sometimes with their parents, more often than not she and Tommy joined them. Oliver used to say that making the tree was a family thing and Tommy and Laurel were part of the family. Sometimes caught up in all the drama that Oliver’s and Sara’s first death Laurel had forgotten that her, Thea, Tommy and Oliver had been a family long before she started dating Oliver. What she couldn’t figure out at the moment was why they had decided to make the tree alone, without telling her. The last year had been hard for them, even Oliver’s and Thea’s relation had suffered of the stress of Sara’s that and then League, so maybe this Christmas they just wanted to do something alone, maybe they wanted to strengthen their bond with an old family tradition. Laurel lingered on the door. Maybe it was better if she left. She was about to leave when Oliver noticed her.   
-Hey Laurel! - he said approaching her - We thought you would stay at the office longer.-   
-I did…But I finished earlier than I thought so here I am.- she said. - But I can leave if you want to finish alone… -  
-We just waned to surprise you. We know how much you like Christmas and we’d been so busy this weeks that we didn’t have time to start decorating the house so since today we were both free we thought to surprise you with the three- Thea said.  
-But since you’re here, you’re more than welcome to join us.- Oliver said kissing her on the cheek.   
-Just give a few minutes to change.- 

When she came back Oliver was holding an angel they’d made at school when they were kids. That angel had been on the top of the Queen’s Christmas tree since Oliver had brought it back from school, when Thea had come home with the same angel the family had used it to decorate the shelves of the living room, the little angel stood proud at the center of the shelf above the fireplace.   
-I remember that angel.- Laurel said walking in and joining them in front of the tree and taking it from Oliver.   
Exchanging a look with Oliver she knew they were both remembering the day they’d made them. It was tradition at their school to let the kids make a decoration for the tree in their fifth year. It was one of the funniest class of the whole year, the kids waited for that chance since their first year. It was the same decoration, and angel for the top of the tree. Laurel remembered that Tommy and Oliver weren’t supposed to be in class cause they had broken a window of the school playing football in the garden. But then their parents had talked with the principal and suddenly they were allowed for class. Laurel had been happy cause making the decoration without them wouldn’t have been the same. At the end of class the three of them were the messiest kids of all, their angles were the most perfect, but they had glue and glitter and pencils drawings everywhere. She remembered the fight they had about the colors of the angles dress. She remembered Tommy and Oliver fighting over which one of them should use green and which red. Oliver said that he’d been the first to suggest the green so he should be the one using it. Tommy said that most of the decorations of the Queen’s family were green so it was logic for him to use red, the angel would have been more visible. They argued for a while until Laurel and taken the two market and draw a red line on Oliver’s dress and a green one on Tommy’s. Oliver’s betrayed look had been priceless and Tommy had kissed her on the cheek to thank her. Then they had focused on her, making her regret interrupting their fight. Laurel wanted to paint her blue, but they had said that blue wasn’t a Christmas color, gold was a much better choice. But she thought that gold wasn’t the right color for an angel. She had her blue marked ready when Oliver had snatched the angel from her hands and Tommy had draw a gold line on it. Laurel had been extremely upset at first but them they had smiled at her and she’d just laughed and painted her angel gold.   
-It’s so old. I can’t believe it survived this long- Oliver said with a smile. 

-Wait a second.- Laurel said giving him his angel back and going to rummage through one of her boxes. A few seconds later she showed them her treasure. Tommy’s angel with its bright green dress.   
-How can you possibly have it?- Oliver asked with tears in his eyes.   
-He brought it here for the three the years he died. He said it was wasted on Malcolm’s tree and he wanted it to be somewhere it would be appreciated. And I guess that then I just put it away with my things.- Laurel said. -I never took it out… until now. For some reason it didn't feel right to use it without Tommy. But now we're all here together and I think Tommy would want to reunite the Angel Family.- Laurel said.   
And Oliver smiled. The Angel Family or the Three Angles Musketeers. Tommy used to call them like this. He said that if Oliver, Laurel and him were a family then surely the angels were too. When Thea had come home with her angel Tommy had decided to call them Musketeers so hers could be D'Artagnan and Thea wouldn't feel left out.  
-Look guys!- Thea said -I found D'Artagnan!- and she waved a purple dressed angel with a big smile.  
Laurel smiled and put Tommy's angel on the shelf next to the television so they would always see it.   
-Come on Ollie, we'll put something else on the top of the three-  
Oliver and Thea reached her in front of the shelf and put their two angles right next Tommy’s. They took a step back and smiled at the results. It was a little like Tommy was there with them.   
-Where’s yours, Laurel?- Thea asked.   
Laurel’s smile lost some of its brightness.   
-When Sara’s made hers we started using that for the tree… I have no idea where mine ended up.- she said. -But three out of four is better than nothing. At least Tommy’s won’t feel lonely… We could use Sara’s one. It’s in that box.- she added and went to take it.   
Thea didn’t say anything. It was better than nothing but it wasn’t the same, the Angels Musketeers were four, if they were all there it would be a bit like their family was complete again, but with one missing they were too close to reality. They missed a part of them just like Oliver, Thea and Laurel missed Tommy. And adding Sara’s one didn’t feel right either. It could be a new member of the “Angel Family” but it couldn’t replace the one who was missing.

-It’s Christmas, girls.- Oliver said coming back from the hallway where he had disappeared while the two women talked. -It’s not the time for sadness. We should remember Tommy while he was happy and helping us, not being sad over his loss. We should be happy to remember him-   
Thea and Laurel looked at him and nodded. He was right. This wasn’t the right time to get sad over a missing angel. It was time to be happy about the ones that were still there.   
-And you.- he said looking at Laurel -Put that angel down. We can use for the tree.-   
Laurel turned to him and noticed that his hands where behind his back, like he was hiding something.  
-But… If we add this it’ll be…-  
-It won’t be the same.- Oliver said. -And anyway there’s no need for that one, when we have the right one.- and showed them what he was hiding behind his back. Laurel’s angel with his golden dress.   
Laurel dropped Sara’s one on the sofa and went to take hers and put it on the shelf near the others.   
-Why do you have it?- she asked surprised while Thea nodded smiling at the perfect family on the shelf.   
-You brought it at my house one year. You said that you didn’t need it anymore. You gave it to me cause it didn’t feel right to throw it away while mine and Tommy’s were still in one piece….-  
-And you kept it? All this time?- Laurel asked.  
-Well… sure. As far as I knew mine and Tommy’s were still around so… Besides it already had its nice little box what was the point in throwing it away?-   
He was still talking when Laurel went over to him and hugged him tight. A bit surprised Oliver hugged her back.  
-What is this for?-  
Laurel didn’t answer, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.   
-I love you.- she said.  
-I love you too.- Oliver said still unsure where that sudden explosion of love came from.   
-Thank you. For keeping that silly decoration all this time. For not loosing it when you moved from the mansion and then the loft.-   
-It was yours. I couldn’t lose something yours- he said kissing her again.  
-And thank God you didn’t lose it, or the Angel family would never be whole again.- Thea said from her spot near the shelf.   
Oliver and Laurel went to her still hugging and brought her in their hug.   
It had taken Laurel and Oliver a long time to fix things, to find again the love that they shared, to find the courage to date again, to put their heart on the line, to trust the other enough to put their happiness in each other’s hands.   
But here they were. Together, in love and happy decorating the tree with their little sister. They were a family, like they were supposed to be, and somehow Tommy was there with them, and wherever his spirit was they were sure he was happy for them.


End file.
